With one T-shirt, the best and the worst elements of the NCAA machine are on display.

The Louisville online apparel shop has introduced a T-shirt with “RI5E TO THE OCCASION” available for purchase. On the back is a giant “5” representing Kevin Ware’s uniform number.

Kevin Ware's injury as marketing opportunity? Looks that way, based on how much these T-shirts cost. (uoflsports.com)

Ware, of course, is the Louisville guard who broke his leg in a gruesome incident during the Cardinals’ Elite Eight win against Duke. The instant reaction from his teammates, and the ensuing outpouring of emotion from people around the country in support of Ware has been heartwarming. The love and well-wishes for Ware come from a good place.

And for Louisville fans, the opportunity to purchase a visible, tangible sign of their support for Ware is most likely welcome. Fans in Atlanta will certainly make posters of support for the TV cameras, and wearing a T-shirt that conveys the same message is a natural next step in that process.

And, then there’s the other side, though. The shirts, made by adidas, retail for $24.99 in the online shop. That’s clearly quite a bit more than the costs to manufacture the shirts, and the idea that Louisville or adidas will potentially profit off this injury is unsettling.

Now, to be clear, because he was injured during a game, Ware doesn’t have to worry about the medical bills associated with his injury. That’s not the issue here. It is ironic—some might choose to use another word there—that they can’t put Ware’s name on the shirt, just his number.

If Louisville really just wanted to give its fans an outlet to express their support, why not slash the price of the Ware T-shirts? Instead of $24.99—a quick look reveals other men's basketball short-sleeved T-shirt prices on the site range from $17.99 to $27.99—why not charge $10? It’s one thing to produce a special-run shirt to capitalize on a team event—such as winning the Big East title ($17.99) or making the Final Four ($24.99)—but to charge a premium price to commemorate a devastating injury?

UPDATE: Brent Seebohm, U of L associate athletic director, told Louisville television station WDRB on Wednesday night that the university "proactively decided to waive any traditional licensing royalties revenue connected to the No. 5 graphic to be worn by the team on the court.

"The shirt was created as a respectful tribute to honor Kevin within NCAA trademark apparel parameters, and allow fans to rally around the team. Because of that, adidas is contributing a portion of every sell to the university's scholarship fund."